Don't Stare at the Sun or You'll Go Blind

Chapter 13

Just when he'd started to think that she had outgrown her more foolish tendencies, she had to obnoxiously prove him wrong. There was still too much dust covering the pit of the crater for him to see exactly what was going on, but he didn't need his eyes to sense her. Whatever comfort he normally felt from her chakra signature was being overwhelmingly overshadowed by a sense of dread and frustration. Teeth grit, Sasuke started to move towards her, but was stopped by a hand to his shoulder. Angrily, Sasuke turned a fierce look onto whoever had dared to try to stop him.

"Sasuke," Jugo started, but Sasuke pulled out of his grasp.

"I already told you that I don't care what you do. Stay out of my way," Sasuke ordered and quickly turned before Jugo could get another word in.

As he was closing in on her chakra signature, Sasuke did his best to avoid taking in the many motionless bodies he passed over. He had underestimated the number of casualties. From what little he gleamed with his sharingan, there was a mix of civilian and shinobi bodies crushed beneath and between the rubble. Sasuke did his best not to seek out any designating marks on the bodies. The last thing he needed on his mind was the image of a bloodied Uchiwa fan or a splash of pink hair.

While he was moving, he could tell that she had already gotten started without him. The largest toads that he had ever seen were busy fending off attacks from the equally large summons. But Sasuke's focus was drawn to where a rusty red colored toad was glaring down at two Akatsuki members. Suddenly, the summons all vanished with white puffs of smoke just as the red toad spat out two bodies. From where he was standing at the lip of the crater, Sasuke could clearly see Naruko's panting form kneeling next to an unmoving Akatsuki body. His feet were moving long before Pain had started rushing towards her.

The loud chirps of his Chidori were less than subtle, giving Pain ample time to dodge and put space between himself, Sasuke and- more importantly- Naruko. Sasuke watched Pain leap back and away to stand to the side of the other Akatsuki member. Immediately, Sasuke picked up on the similarities: the ringed purple eyes, orange hair, and piercings. They even shared similar chakra signatures.

"You're late, 'ttebayo," he heard her huff behind him.

"You shouldn't be here, Dobe," Sasuke scoffed. He heard her shifting behind him until she was standing at his side. From what he could tell, she wasn't hurt. Her new coat already torn slightly and dirtied.

"He killed Ero Sennin and destroyed the village," she replied.

From her voice alone, Sasuke could pick up on her barely restrained rage. From the corner of his eye, he could see the anger harden her features as he fists clenched. He had wanted to chastise her further for putting herself in harm's way. But truthfully, he understood. The pain and hate that he could feel from her was like a reflection of his own heart. With a soft scoff, Sasuke returned his gaze to their opponents. "Just try to keep up, Usuratonkachi."

"Are you kidding? You're my backup, 'ttebayo," she said and pulled the large scroll from behind her back. Not sure what she was planning, Sasuke moved ahead to give her time to put her plan into action.

While he was trading blows with Pain, Sasuke did his best to keep track of the man's moves as well as the other man standing in wait. Just as he was cataloguing Pain's movements to memorize and breakdown the man's fight style, he could tell that Pain was doing the same to him. In an effort to maintain some unpredictability, Sasuke randomly switched between taijutsu styles- Iron Fist that he picked up from Lee, the generic Konoha style, and the Uchiha style. However, despite the randomness, Pain was easily blocking and dodging his strikes.

"Sasuke!"

As if he had been burned, Sasuke pulled away from Pain and leapt in the air. He could hear her Rasenshuriken shrieking away behind him, so he rushed to gain distance. While mid-air, his eyes tracked the second body's movements- a quick rush to defend Pain. Mangekyo swirling, Sasuke watched the second Akatsuki member absorb the Rasenshuriken without any difficulty. As he reclaimed his spot at Naruko's side, she said, "That one absorbs ninjutsu, but I already took care of him, 'ttebayo."